Veterinarian Calvin Lum makes house calls

WHAT I DO Calvin Lum, House-Call Animal Doctor

Published 4:00 am, Monday, July 25, 2011

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Dr. Calvin Lum makes a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles, while Marcus's son David Ross (left), age 11, plays a videogame. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17, while he was in the city working on Billy Elliot (Ross normally lives in Las Vegas). Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinarian Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Dr. Calvin Lum makes a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles, while Marcus's son David ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (not pictured). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17. Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinary Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (not pictured). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (not pictured). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17. Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinarian Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (not pictured). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (right). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17. Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinary Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (right). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (far left, holding Ross's other boxer Carly). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17. Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinarian Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (far left, holding Ross's other boxer Carly). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (not pictured). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17. Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinarian Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum examines Miles, the newly adopted Boxer of Marcus Ross (not pictured). Dr. Lum made a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Marcus Ross's older boxer, Carly, waits in the kitchen during the exam. Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum makes a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17, while he was in the city working on Billy Elliot (Ross normally lives in Las Vegas). Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinarian Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Marcus Ross's older boxer, Carly, waits in the kitchen during the exam. Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum makes a housecall on Tuesday, July 19, to the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments in San Francisco, to perform a ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum arrives at the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments to make a housecall on Tuesday, July 19. He is performing a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was adopted by Ross on Sunday, July 17, while he was in the city working on Billy Elliot (Ross normally lives in Las Vegas). Dr. Lum has also done housecalls for Ross's other boxer, Carly, who was adopted in 2007. Dr. Lum runs his practice, San Francisco Veterinarian Housecalls, out of his childhood home in San Francisco. less

Veterinarian Dr. Calvin Lum arrives at the Steinhart Hotel and Apartments to make a housecall on Tuesday, July 19. He is performing a first exam for Marcus Ross's recently rescued boxer, Miles. Miles was ... more

Photo: Skyler Reid, Special To The Chronicle

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Veterinarian Calvin Lum makes house calls

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For cats, a visit to the vet is often a trauma. Cats dislike change and hate leaving home. Veterinarian Calvin Lum took that into consideration when he opened his house-calls-only practice three years ago.

A UC Davis veterinary school graduate, Lum, 52, previously worked in brick-and-mortar veterinary practices in Los Gatos, Redwood City and San Francisco. He lives in the same apartment where he and three siblings were raised by their Chinese immigrant parents.

I always loved animals when I was a kid and was always so curious and intrigued by them. But because of my siblings' allergies, I couldn't have pets. Plus, we didn't have a yard here in the Chinatown/ Nob Hill area. So, I had my fish and guinea pigs.

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Cats are about 70 percent of my house calls, and the rest are dogs. San Francisco has more cats than dogs per capita. When I worked on the Peninsula, dogs were the majority.

I think cats are a higher percentage of my patients because a lot of them hate leaving their home and being stashed into the cat carrier. "Meow! Meow!" Urination and other messes. The house call allows a more peaceful, convenient and less stressed veterinary exam.

I like cats - I have two at home. But they can be more difficult as patients than dogs (holds up a bandaged finger). This was my worst bite in 23 years of practice. Most cats are hissing and spitting if they're afraid, so you know to be careful. But this one was kind of quiet when all of a sudden - chomp!

A fractious dog is generally easier to work with because they just have one weapon - their mouth. So all they need is a muzzle. Don't have to worry about claws.

One of the primary diseases I see in cats is kidney failure. But lately, I've seen more diabetes both in cats and dogs. The percentage of diabetes in cats has increased because of the American lifestyle: Overweight cats are more prone to develop diabetes.

I show the owners how to do insulin injections and glucose tests at home. In the old days, you had to take the cat into the hospital every time to measure blood glucose, which is a big hassle. Plus, when a cat gets stressed, their blood sugar shoots up, so some of those readings are erroneous.

Another portion of my house-call practice, the sad part, is euthanasia. Very sad, but very important. To be able to do such an emotional task, in the privacy and comfort of one's home, is such a blessing and relief for most guardians.

My office is in my home. I'm the secretary, the doctor, the stock boy, the janitor. I hire out an IT guy for computer stuff, and a bookkeeper and accountant. Otherwise, it's all me.

I drive a Toyota Prius. That's my vet mobile. When I was in brick-and-mortar practice, I could only spend about 10 to 20 minutes with a client. With house calls, I book about an hour for each appointment, which includes travel time.

I bring my laptop and a small printer to people's homes and I print up the invoice, vaccination and health certificates, prescription labels. Mostly, it's paperless: All the medical records, X-rays, lab reports are on the laptop. So there's no file folders at all. It's all portable.

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